Speaker Profiles

Florence Reed  is the Founder and President of Sustainable Harvest International.  She believes that when people work together, things change for the better. This belief led her to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama in the early nineties and work for a number of nonprofit organizations. In 1997, Reed founded Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with rural Central American communities to implement sustainable land-use practices. As president of the organization, Reed spends her time guiding SHI forward with Central American farmers, Central American staff, Board members, US staff and supporters, bringing together a wide variety of individuals to create a better future. In recent years she has received an honorary doctorate, along with many awards such as the Yves Rocher Women of the Earth award, Garden Club of America Distinguished Service award and etown e-chievement award. Florence Reed will be speaking on Monday, September  17, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Bryant Terry is an eco chef, food justice activist, and author of critically acclaimed Vegan Soul Kitchen (VSK): Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine. For the past ten years he has worked to build a more just and sustainable food system and has used cooking as a tool to illuminate the intersections between poverty, structural racism, and food insecurity. His interest in cooking, farming, and community health can be traced back to his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee, where his grandparents inspired him to grow, prepare, and appreciate good food.  Bryant Terry will be speaking on Monday, September 24, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Joel Salatin  is a fulltime farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm fulltime in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas.  The farm services more than 3,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing.  He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as Stockman Grass Farmer, Acres USA, and American Agriculturalist. Joel Salatin will be speaking on Thursday, October 4 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Dr. Abram Kaplan  started his environmental career at Oberlin College, where he was one of the very first ES majors, while also majoring in Political Science.  After college, he went to Northern Virginia to work as a computer systems analyst.  After two years, he attended the Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison, where he earned his M.S. in Land Resources and a certificate in Energy Analysis and Planning.  Dr. Kaplan received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UNC.  Dr. Kaplan was hired as the founding director of Denison’s ENVS program in 1993.  Dr. Abram Kaplan will be speaking on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Dr. Walter Willett is professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, and the author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. He is also one of the principal investigators on the Nurses Health Study, one of the largest, long-term studies to look at the effect of diet on health.  Dr. Walter Willett will be speaking on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Dr. Fabio Parasecoli‘s research focuses on the intersections of food, media and politics. His current work examines food and masculinity in movies and the sociopolitical aspects of food, international trade and intellectual property. Deeply involved in the international food studies movement, he is program advisor at Gustolab, a center for food and culture in Rome; he helped establish the Study Abroad program in Rome for the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana; and he is on the advisory board for the MA program in Food Systems at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in Barcelona.  Dr. Fabio Parasecoli will be speaking on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Florence Reed is the Founder and President of Sustainable Harvest International.  She believes that when people work together, things change for the better. This belief led her to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama in the early nineties and work for a number of nonprofit organizations. In 1997, Reed founded Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with rural Central American communities to implement sustainable land-use practices. As president of the organization, Reed spends her time guiding SHI forward with Central American farmers, Central American staff, Board members, US staff and supporters, bringing together a wide variety of individuals to create a better future. In recent years she has received an honorary doctorate, along with many awards such as the Peace Corps Sargent Shriver award, the Yves Rocher Women of the Earth award, Garden Club of America Distinguished Service award and etown e-chievement award. Florence Reed will be speaking about her work with SHI on Monday, September  17, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m.  VIDEOS

Bryant Terry is an eco chef, food justice activist, and author of critically acclaimed Vegan Soul Kitchen (VSK): Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine. For the past ten years he has worked to build a more just and sustainable food system and has used cooking as a tool to illuminate the intersections between poverty, structural racism, and food insecurity. His interest in cooking, farming, and community health can be traced back to his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee, where his grandparents inspired him to grow, prepare, and appreciate good food.  Bryant Terry will be speaking about urban agriculture, the food system, and social justice on Monday, September 24, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m.  VIDEOS

Dr. Sinan Koont is an Associate Professor of Economics at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His teaching interests include economic theory, econometrics, mathematical economics, economic development, and comparative economic systems. His current research interest is agrarian reform and macro economic policy in Central America and Caribbean. He earned his BA degree from Park College in 1963, MS degree from the University of Arkansas in 1966, his first Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1972, and his second Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in 1987. Dr. Sinan Koont will be speaking about urban and sub-urban agriculture in Cuba on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 in Phillips Auditorium at 4 p.m.

Dr. Anjali Bhatia is an Associate Professor, teaching in the Department of Sociology at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. She received her Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Based on fieldwork in Delhi, her doctoral research examines the globalization thesis in context of the fast food eating out culture of Delhi. The areas of her research interest include sociology of food, sociology of family and sociology of everyday life.  Dr. Anjali Bhatia will be speaking about how the fast food eating out culture purveyed by the multi-national restaurant chain McDonald’s and its selective adoption by indigenous eateries, compels us to think about reconfiguration of the family and ensuing tensions in global-local contexts, with a specific focus on childhood and youth.  Dr. Bhatia will speak on Monday, October 1, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m.

Joel Salatin is a full time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm full time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas.  The farm services more than 3,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing.  He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as Stockman Grass Farmer, Acres USA, and American Agriculturalist. Joel Salatin will be speaking on Thursday, October 4 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m. VIDEOS

Kelly Klein works for Monsanto Company where he is the North American Lead for Vegetable Production Research. He has worked for Monsanto for 10 years, eight years working in corn and the past 2 years in the vegetable business. Production Research focuses on improving seed production and seed quality. Kelly’s main research interests are around agronomic practices such as row spacing as well as seed handling and drying. He received a BS degree in Agronomy from Kansas State University and a Master’s degree in Crop Production also from Kansas State. Kelly grew up on a farm, in a long-standing farming family in North Dakota where they produce wheat, barley, canola, soybeans, and corn. Kelly Klein will be speaking about what a farming lifestyle is like, typical concerns of midwestern farmers, what corporate agriculture brings to the table, and what he does for Monsanto on Monday, October 8, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m.

Jeni Britton-Bauer is the owner and co-founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams of Columbus, Ohio.  Jeni started making ice cream in 1996, and has spent fifteen years perfecting her craft and building a community of devotees. Her creative, innovative, and nuanced recipes are inspired by the ingredients available any given day at the market. At Jeni’s, everything is made by hand and in house (they even handwrite the name of the ice cream on every pint!), and many of the ingredients are sourced locally. There are currently seven stores in Ohio, retail clients throughout the country, and a thriving mail order business.  Jeni was recently awarded a James Beard Foundation award for her book Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.  Jeni will be speaking as part of the Panel Discussion titled Making Local Work in Ohio: Production, Promotion, and Entrepreneurship in the Local Food System on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7pm.

Warren Taylor is the owner and co-founder of Snowville Creamery in Pomeroy, Ohio.  Warren worked at Safeway’s Dairy Division Headquarters when the grocer was the world’s largest milk bottling company. In 2007, he and his wife Victoria decided to mortgage family-owned rural land to start a business to process and distribute products sourced from cows that graze the southeastern Ohio countryside. The plan was to produce dairy products through environmentally sustainable agricultural methods and bring jobs to one of Ohio’s poorest counties.  Five years later, Snowville Creamery has more than 30 employees and a million-dollar payroll. Its 2012 projection is for $5 million in sales to regional grocery stores and an ice cream company. Warren will be speaking as part of the Panel Discussion titled Making Local Work in Ohio: Production, Promotion, and Entrepreneurship in the Local Food System on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7pm.

Michael Jones is the Executive Director at Local Matters and also owner of The Greener Grocer, Local Matters’ for-profit partner, both located in Columbus, Ohio. Local Matters focuses on three fundamental, strategic areas of transforming the food system in Central Ohio: educating about local foods, nutrition, cooking, and growing food; increasing access to fresh and local foods and connecting individuals and groups to resources; and engaging with the community in partnerships and collaboration to create sustainable, long-lasting change.  Michael graduated from the School of Public Health at the University of Health at the University of North Carlina in Chapel Hill.  Michael, a trained chef, has studied at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York, and at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Piedmont, Italy. He currently also serves on the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s Agriculture and Food Systems Working Group.  Michael will be speaking as part of the Panel Discussion titled Making Local Work in Ohio: Production, Promotion, and Entrepreneurship in the Local Food System on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7pm.

Tricia Wheeler, Publisher and Editor in Chief of Edible Columbus, is a local entrepreneur and a classically studied chef, graduating number one in her class at the celebrated French Culinary Institute in New York City in 2009. Tricia’s latest endeavor is the launch of Edible Columbus, a magazine dedicated to the way lives are touched by fresh, locally grown foods, encompassing everything from the farmer’s field to the dining table and the journeys in between. Tricia is passionate about the joys of home cooking and entertaining, and teaches a popular cooking series in Columbus, Ohio. Before attending FCI, Tricia owned and built a successful business that was acquired by a national company in 2007. She has received numerous business awards and accolades. Tricia is passionate about French cooking, visiting France, antique dishes, elaborate table settings and exquisite food!  She will be moderating the Panel Discussion titled Making Local Work in Ohio: Production, Promotion, and Entrepreneurship in the Local Food System on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7pm.

Dr. Abram Kaplan started his environmental career at Oberlin College, where he was one of the very first ES majors, while also majoring in Political Science.  After college, he went to Northern Virginia to work as a computer systems analyst.  After two years, he attended the Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison, where he earned his M.S. in Land Resources and a certificate in Energy Analysis and Planning.  Dr. Kaplan received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UNC.  Dr. Kaplan was hired as the founding director of Denison’s ENVS program in 1993.  Dr. Kaplan is also a 3-D artist, and his exhibit, entitled “Fine Grain: Visual Immersion in the American Food System,” will be on display at OWU from October 22nd through November 16th in various locations. The installation features a 16-foot-wide ring, which displays the artist’s panoramic photography, and a 14-foot crafted silo.  The 12 installments make for a fascinating and original presentation of the American food industry. Dr. Kaplan’s talk will be titled What You See is What You Get: Getting the Picture of Food and Art, and will be held on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 4 p.m. VIDEOS

Avesta Saaty has been working in the food industry for over 20 years and food critics have called Chef Avesta’s cuisine “a species of magic” and rated it four stars. Her love for the food industry started with her first restaurant job was in Logan, Ohio where she grew up at a local ma and pa place called The Shake Shoppe. Chef Avesta was classically trained in Western Europe and has Kurdish roots with influences from Greek, Turkish, Persian, Arabic and Eastern European cuisines. Her love and respect for Asian and Latin cuisines have also influenced her techniques and flavors. In 2004, Avesta opened Avesta Eclectic Cuisine in Delaware, Oh. Her next venture was a food line for local coffee shops and wine bistros. Later Avesta moved to Omaha, there she started Avesta Cuisine, a private chef and catering company that concentrated on local foods and restaurant quality catered food. Today, Avesta is back in Columbus, Ohio and is working as a consultant for local restaurants and chefs. Avesta will be speaking about the tastes, traditions, and stories that have influenced her path in the culinary industry on Thursday, November 1, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m.

Ben Hewitt was born and raised in northern Vermont, where he currently runs a small-scale farm. He lives with his wife and two sons in a self-built home that is powered by a windmill and solar photovoltaic panels. He is the author of The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, and his most recent book Making Supper Safe: One Man’s Quest to Learn the Truth About Food Safety. His work has appeared in numerous national periodicals, including the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Gourmet, Discover, Skiing, Eating Well, Yankee Magazine, Powder, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure,and Outside. He will be discussing the economic possibilities of local food and the impact of our current system on food safety. Ben Hewitt will be speaking about issues related to the food system and food safety on Friday, November 2, 2012 in Phillips Auditorium at 4 p.m. Ben will also deliver the Keynote address for the Innovative Farmers of Ohio Fundraiser that will begin at 5:30pm (keynote at 7pm) in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. VIDEOS

Dr. Walter Willett is professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, and the author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. He is also one of the principal investigators on the Nurses Health Study, one of the largest, long-term studies to look at the effect of diet on health.  Dr. Walter Willett will be speaking about his work in nutrition and epidemiology on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 3 p.m. VIDEOS

Dr. Fabio Parasecoli’s research focuses on the intersections of food, media and politics. His current work examines food and masculinity in movies and the sociopolitical aspects of food, international trade and intellectual property. Deeply involved in the international food studies movement, he is program advisor at Gustolab, a center for food and culture in Rome; he helped establish the Study Abroad program in Rome for the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana; and he is on the advisory board for the MA program in Food Systems at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in Barcelona.  Dr. Fabio Parasecoli will be speaking about food, pop culture, and the American identity on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center at 7 p.m. VIDEOS

Florence Reed  is the Founder and President of Sustainable Harvest International.  She believes that when people work together, things change for the better. This belief led her to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama in the early nineties and work for a number of nonprofit organizations. In 1997, Reed founded Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with rural Central American communities to implement sustainable land-use practices. As president of the organization, Reed spends her time guiding SHI forward with Central American farmers, Central American staff, Board members, US staff and supporters, bringing together a wide variety of individuals to create a better future. In recent years she has received an honorary doctorate, along with many awards such as the Yves Rocher Women of the Earth award, Garden Club of America Distinguished Service award and etown e-chievement award. Florence Reed will be speaking on Monday, September  17, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Bryant Terry is an eco chef, food justice activist, and author of critically acclaimed Vegan Soul Kitchen (VSK): Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine. For the past ten years he has worked to build a more just and sustainable food system and has used cooking as a tool to illuminate the intersections between poverty, structural racism, and food insecurity. His interest in cooking, farming, and community health can be traced back to his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee, where his grandparents inspired him to grow, prepare, and appreciate good food.  Bryant Terry will be speaking on Monday, September 24, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Joel Salatin  is a fulltime farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm fulltime in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas.  The farm services more than 3,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing.  He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as Stockman Grass Farmer, Acres USA, and American Agriculturalist. Joel Salatin will be speaking on Thursday, October 4 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Dr. Abram Kaplan  started his environmental career at Oberlin College, where he was one of the very first ES majors, while also majoring in Political Science.  After college, he went to Northern Virginia to work as a computer systems analyst.  After two years, he attended the Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison, where he earned his M.S. in Land Resources and a certificate in Energy Analysis and Planning.  Dr. Kaplan received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UNC.  Dr. Kaplan was hired as the founding director of Denison’s ENVS program in 1993.  Dr. Abram Kaplan will be speaking on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Dr. Walter Willett is professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, and the author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. He is also one of the principal investigators on the Nurses Health Study, one of the largest, long-term studies to look at the effect of diet on health.  Dr. Walter Willett will be speaking on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Dr. Fabio Parasecoli‘s research focuses on the intersections of food, media and politics. His current work examines food and masculinity in movies and the sociopolitical aspects of food, international trade and intellectual property. Deeply involved in the international food studies movement, he is program advisor at Gustolab, a center for food and culture in Rome; he helped establish the Study Abroad program in Rome for the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana; and he is on the advisory board for the MA program in Food Systems at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in Barcelona.  Dr. Fabio Parasecoli will be speaking on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.